Superhero Movie Smack Down – Round 2
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Brian Bannen – X-Men: First Class
X-Men: First Class (2011) excels because of its realistic and historical framework, not to mention a cast of actors who added the perfect human element to make the movie the shot in the arm the X-Men franchise needed to rebound.
What makes this movie so good? James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender. From the first moment these two appeared on screen, I believed in their friendship. They bring humanity to the story, the one thing a lot of superhero movies seem to be missing. Plus, McAvoy and Fassbender show that films can acquire great talent without spending a shit-ton of money.
Additionally, director Matthew Vaughn allots an equal amount of time each to the group of heroes, giving them depth beyond their abilities. When Charles was paralyzed, I gasped because I had been so wrapped up in the story and characters that I forgot it was coming. And when it did? Earth-shattering.
X-Men: First Class is really Magneto’s movie, and Michael Fassbender pulls off an awesome portrayal of Erik Lehnsherr while still paying homage to Ian McKellen. This film’s got everything. And that’s why it’s one of the best ever made.
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Shawn Dillon – X2: X-Men United
Do you know what makes X2 (2004) kick a hell of a lot more ass than some of the other films covered here? IT’S AN EFFING SUPERHERO MOVIE! Donnie Darko – really, Stu?! I don’t need to make some demented, half-cocked correlation between my movie and the first Superman film to convince you that my choice is in fact a superhero movie.
X2 hits the ground running (or should I say bamfing) with a flawlessly intense sequence as Nightcrawler teleports from one ass-kicking to the next in his failed assassination attempt on the president. This sets up the remainder of the film for a well-thought-out conspiracy plot that facilitates further violence – especially a mesmerizing scene where Wolverine hacks and slashes an invading black ops team in the X-Mansion.
X2 also features painfully attractive actresses in many flavors, a diminished screen presence of Cyclops (he just sucks as a character) and very few speaking lines for Halle Berry (she sucks as an actress but is easy on the eyes) – all of this makes X2 an awesome film.
Regardless of whether we see eye to eye on X2, I believe we can agree on this: X2 is a superhero film and Donnie Darko clearly is not. ‘Nuff said!
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